Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown last night expressed cautious optimism that Bermuda will not be badly impacted by any knock-on effect from the latest airline terrorism alert that might dissuade tourists from coming to the Island by air in the coming weeks and months.

Currently on vacation himself, he said: ?I am concerned about the potentially negative impact of this security situation, but I am cautiously optimistic that for a number of reasons which include our proximity to North America, Bermuda will continue to do well. I believe that we will do well despite the security challenges.?

Travellers arriving and departing from Bermuda International Airport during the world-wide security alert yesterday agreed with the reasons for the tighter measures even if it did mean added inconvenience and delays.

It was those disembarking for BA flight 2233 from London Gatwick in the evening who had been most directly affected by the drama that unfolded in the small hours of the morning when security forces in the UK sparked a mammoth alert as they moved to arrest terrorist suspects suspected of plotting an imminent attack on aircraft flying between the UK and the USA.

Unlike London Heathrow Airport, the British capital?s second airport London Gatwick was kept open during the day to the relief of passengers flying to and from Bermuda.

Some queues at the airport snaked out of the main doors but the delays encountered by Bermuda-bound passengers amounted to around an hour at most, according to travellers who spoke to as they arrived last night.

?We had to queue outside at one point and I put my hand luggage in my main case,? said visitor Sophie Bruce, from England, who had made her first airline flight travelling on her own.

?We were given see-through plastic bags to put a few items in to take on the plane.?

Fellow passenger Lorri Lewis, who travelled with her daughters Jessica, 13, and Jacqui, 16, on a vacation to the UK, saw armed Police patrolling inside Gatwick Airport but said everyone had remained calm as the new security measures were introduced.

Mrs. Lewis said: ?It was very well organised and the lines were not as bad as we thought they would be. We waited an hour to check-in for the flight. We had been told at our hotel about the security alert.

?We were worried about travelling today and we could not take anything with us on the plane. But once we got through security everything was very orderly.

?We were nervous but we thought if they had caught these guys in a day without the extra security then it must be even safer now with the heightened security.?

The London passengers were not allowed to take any carry-on cabin luggage, other than essential travel documents, money and passports in a clear plastic bag provided at the check-in. However, once on the ?air-side? of the check-in they were allowed to buy books and some items but nothing that contained liquid.

This included such things as lip gloss, as passenger Fiona Collins discovered. ?All I could take with me were my glasses and my purse. But I would rather be safe than sorry. Everybody was just pleased to get on the flight.?

Bermudian Sarah Taylor said: ?It was very busy but the line was moving quickly. Security had been turned up a few notches but it was probably one of the safest days to fly because of that.?

Passengers who were flying off the Island on the BA flight to London were last night permitted to take on board hand luggage if they were flying straight to London, but were subjected to the ?plastic bag-only? request if they intended to get on to a connecting flight in London. Only travel documents, passport money and prescription medicine (non liquid) were allowed to be carried in the plastic bags.

British Airways? spokeswoman in Bermuda, Sallie Singleton explained that restrictions allowed London passengers to take spectacles and sunglasses but not their cases, contact lenses and their holders but not the fluid bottles and bottle milk for children could only be taken on board if the person accompanying the child tasted the milk in front of a member of airport security personnel.

Electrical key fobs and any duty-free purchases such as liquor and perfume were on the prohibited list yesterday.